Utilizing the healthWISE methodology to improve work conditions in healthcare settings in China
“Experience of OSH improvement the participating hospitals achieved by utilizing the HealthWISE methodology will contribute to the improvement of work conditions of healthcare workers in the country and across the world”, said Tim de Meyer, Director, ILO Country Office for China and Mongolia, in his closing remarks.
For the majorities of the Chinese hospitals, the concept of occupational safety and health is still a brand new concept. Very few hospitals have created the OSH department or OSH committee in workplace. Studies and research in this area are far from enough. Technical guidelines guiding healthcare workers to prevent and manage occupational exposure or injuries are very few. Universal precautions, the minimum OSH standards in healthcare settings, are poorly implemented in the majorities of the Chinese hospitals. Healthcare workers face high risks in their daily work of being infected by blood borne pathogens, physical, chemical and ergonomic injuries, as well as workplace violence and discrimination.
To address these challenges and promote preventive OSH culture in Chinese hospitals, the ILO Country Office for China and Mongolia in cooperation with the Chinese AIDS/STD Prevention and Control Association (CASPCA) carried out the second HIV and HealthWISE ToT workshop from 28-30 November 2016 in Nanning City, Guangxi Province.
The HealthWISE manuals, developed by the ILO and WHO in 2014 and were translated into Chinese in 2015, provide healthcare institutions with a practical and cost-effective tool to improve work conditions, performance, occupational safety and health for healthcare workers and the quality of health services provided. Improvements are introduced and sustained by the combined efforts of management and workers. HeathWISE puts health workforce in focus and addresses topics that are key to delivering quality care. It encourages everyone to participate in making their workplace not only a good place to work but a quality healthcare environment appreciated by patients and the community.
“Healthcare workers provide health for the society and safeguard the health and safety of the general population. Better work conditions of healthcare workers will lead to a better health outcome of the nation. It is the role of trade unions to strengthen the protection for healthcare workers from occupational injury”, said Ms Liu Dongfang, Deputy Director General of Nanning Federation of Trade Unions in her opening remarks. She called for urgent action from trade unions in all hospitals in Guangxi Province to raise awareness of occupational safety and health among healthcare workers, and to promote the utilization of HealthWISE in all hospitals.
Ms Liu Xiaoyan, Deputy Director, Department of Economic Technology and Labor Protection, All-China Federation of Trade Unions, introduced the experience of trade unions in improving work conditions in small and medium sized enterprises across the country. She appreciated the OSH tools including the HealthWISE ILO developed in the past years in guiding workers to achieve better occupational safety and health and work performance.
The HealthWISE ToT also gave special attention to discrimination towards healthcare workers with HIV and patients with HIV as well. Brigitte Zug-Castillo, Senior Technical Advisor ILO GED, introduced the ILO R.200 Concerning HIV and AIDS and the World of Work in her opening remarks and presentations during the workshop. She iterated the key principles of the ILO Recommendation, in particular non-discrimination that “real or perceived HIV status should not be a ground of discrimination preventing the recruitment or continued employment, or the pursuit of equal opportunities. Real or perceived HIV status should not be a cause for termination of employment”. She also introduced report on violence from the ILO expert committee.
The workshop also arranged some time for experience and information sharing. “A lot of changes have taken place in my hospital since the last HealthWISE ToT in 2015. As it has demonstrated in our hospital, OSH performance improvement doesn’t cost much”, said Ms Zhang Jun Yan, the OSH focal point in No.1 Hospital Zhengzhou University “I am confident that our hospital will achieve more improvements in the coming years and I am keen to share more experience to others in the next HealthWISE ToT”.
A wide range of issues related to HIV and occupational safety and health were covered in the three day training workshop, including:
More than 70 participants from 26 hospitals in four provinces attended the HealthWISE ToT in Nanning this year. According to the workplan of the ILO Beijing, two HealthWISE ToT workshops will be carried out in 2017.
To address these challenges and promote preventive OSH culture in Chinese hospitals, the ILO Country Office for China and Mongolia in cooperation with the Chinese AIDS/STD Prevention and Control Association (CASPCA) carried out the second HIV and HealthWISE ToT workshop from 28-30 November 2016 in Nanning City, Guangxi Province.
The HealthWISE manuals, developed by the ILO and WHO in 2014 and were translated into Chinese in 2015, provide healthcare institutions with a practical and cost-effective tool to improve work conditions, performance, occupational safety and health for healthcare workers and the quality of health services provided. Improvements are introduced and sustained by the combined efforts of management and workers. HeathWISE puts health workforce in focus and addresses topics that are key to delivering quality care. It encourages everyone to participate in making their workplace not only a good place to work but a quality healthcare environment appreciated by patients and the community.
“Healthcare workers provide health for the society and safeguard the health and safety of the general population. Better work conditions of healthcare workers will lead to a better health outcome of the nation. It is the role of trade unions to strengthen the protection for healthcare workers from occupational injury”, said Ms Liu Dongfang, Deputy Director General of Nanning Federation of Trade Unions in her opening remarks. She called for urgent action from trade unions in all hospitals in Guangxi Province to raise awareness of occupational safety and health among healthcare workers, and to promote the utilization of HealthWISE in all hospitals.
Ms Liu Xiaoyan, Deputy Director, Department of Economic Technology and Labor Protection, All-China Federation of Trade Unions, introduced the experience of trade unions in improving work conditions in small and medium sized enterprises across the country. She appreciated the OSH tools including the HealthWISE ILO developed in the past years in guiding workers to achieve better occupational safety and health and work performance.
The HealthWISE ToT also gave special attention to discrimination towards healthcare workers with HIV and patients with HIV as well. Brigitte Zug-Castillo, Senior Technical Advisor ILO GED, introduced the ILO R.200 Concerning HIV and AIDS and the World of Work in her opening remarks and presentations during the workshop. She iterated the key principles of the ILO Recommendation, in particular non-discrimination that “real or perceived HIV status should not be a ground of discrimination preventing the recruitment or continued employment, or the pursuit of equal opportunities. Real or perceived HIV status should not be a cause for termination of employment”. She also introduced report on violence from the ILO expert committee.
The workshop also arranged some time for experience and information sharing. “A lot of changes have taken place in my hospital since the last HealthWISE ToT in 2015. As it has demonstrated in our hospital, OSH performance improvement doesn’t cost much”, said Ms Zhang Jun Yan, the OSH focal point in No.1 Hospital Zhengzhou University “I am confident that our hospital will achieve more improvements in the coming years and I am keen to share more experience to others in the next HealthWISE ToT”.
A wide range of issues related to HIV and occupational safety and health were covered in the three day training workshop, including:
- Utilizing HealthWISE Methodology to create the OSH management system in workplace
- Addressing discrimination and workplace violence in healthcare settings
- Walk-through the hospitals to identify hazards and risks and discussion of solutions for improvement
- Experiences and lessons from four hospitals
More than 70 participants from 26 hospitals in four provinces attended the HealthWISE ToT in Nanning this year. According to the workplan of the ILO Beijing, two HealthWISE ToT workshops will be carried out in 2017.